Posted on 07/19/2004 11:25:42 AM PDT by television is just wrong
I have no doubt they were eating them but there is NO animal sacrifice in the culture from whence they came. The dog historically had no function in that culture. It was not there useful for hunting and was too expensive to keep for protection; it was another mouth to feed in a culture that had not the same crime patterns that Western Civ has. And there are no pets in a population that does not feed itself easily.
That has changed now in Viet Nam as the lack of war and the privatization of agriculture (and increasingly of all commerce) has given the Vietnamese an abundance of cheap food. Last summer I saw many dogs in peoples' yards- many have yards now, the same as we have yards around our houses. In the North there are still a very few cafes that serve dog but its popularity is declining as it is seen as something that is appropriate to a non-modern society.
P.S. As a culinary object dog is pretty good. My memory of it is 35 years old, though.
P.P.S. When the first emigres came here they were amazed at all the foodstock that was allowed to run around free and unowned. The stray dog population disappeared very quickly. After a year or so and some bad reactions they determined that dog was a non food item. They now get embarrassed or mad when some yokel accuses them of being dogeaters.
Their polygamy will cease ASAP in the US. They are determined to become Americans, unlike some other immigrant groups. They will make arrangements within their family groups for the care of second wives and will be monogamous and they will not just abandon extra wives. The Hmong start from a lower educational base than the Kinh (ethnic Viet) and will have a harder struggle but they will survive and thrive. Most come as Christians (protestants) or will convert on American soil and have the enthusiasm of converts for the religion and for their new society. In those communities where the churches sponsor them they have a major leg up on the system.
They are not Moslem style polygamists and will shed the habit when they settle in the US. Their primary gooal will be to become Americans and that excludes polygamy even if the USSC legalizes it.
Those that come with plural wives will change their arrangements here. Excess wives will be taken care of by family. Each man will have no more than one. Most are or will soon be Christians and the practice dies at the border.
These people are still being imprisoned and killed and forced from their homes because of their alliance with the United States.
I know several CONSERVATIVE churches in NC that are sponsoring groups of these people. They will very soon enhance the economy in those towns. Some of these immirants are zealous Christians are zealous Christians, the others will soon be. The Hmong and other minorities are rapidly converting in Southeast Asia which is exacerbating an already bad relationship with the communist governments.
That persecution includes murder and prison camps, blocking of food, destruction of homes and farms, etc.
They will deal with it themselves in short order. They are determined to become Americans, not to change America into something else.
How long should we honor our commitment to Israel dennis? Let's throw them away too.
The 13 yo will go back to her family or will be adopted by another family, probably her erstwhile husband's. These folks will not try to maintain polygamy. They are intent on becoming Americans.
Thank you. It is good to know that I am not merely yelling at the monitor.
Check out my replies from #61 on-
As I said, they are probably more worthy of resettlement here than most.
We can only hope that they as a group determine to assimilate. It will be entirely up to them, because it surely will not be made necessary.
Well said Thanh and I second that.
While I have not 'sacrificed' a dog before, I have eaten it and I must say that it was quite good. In fact, I had some this past March....while I was staying in China. (The Chinese believe that eating dog meat in cold weather helps to keep the body warm).
While many things in the East are not accepted by those of us in the West, that does not make it wrong. I would never eat dog in the US, but I eat it when I visit parts of the East when visiting with family and friends.
"Their polygamy will cease ASAP in the US. They are determined to become Americans, unlike some other immigrant groups."
Exactly. I need not say more.
"If we owe it to anyone we owe it to the Hmong. They allied with the Americans in the war and fought hard and well for US"
Apparently some Americans either don't realize this, or they have forgotten. Where do you think much of the intel came from? Do you think that the US just up and decided one day to allow some uheard of tribe such as the Hmong people immigrate to the US for the hell of it?
Part of the reason that the Hmong people are allowed to take refugee status in Thailand is because of this. The other part is because the Thais never refuse anyone.
My friend, I am afraid you are speaking to a brick wall. Unfortunately, too many Americans are negligent of other cultures and therefore are unaccepting of those which are different.
It is ironic that I meet many new immigrants (legal) that seek to be more American, than most natives I know.
A debt of honor must be repaid. If we do not keep our promises, who will help us the next time? In the long run, the Hmong will be an asset for the nation. There are people 'round the world who hate us and our culture; if we take in a few thousand more who love us and aspire to become one of us, how could it hurt?
Oh please. Elderly relatives collect SSI. Many have Medicaid as their insurance, young and old. My wife deals with families that collect money from the county to "care for" relatives, who are by some miracle able to baby sit, cook and clean for others. Food stamps. It goes on and on. By the way, I bet you got a nice price on that bridge you were sold too....
Any idea what the Hmong did for the United States a few decades ago, and why it is they may be finally relocated to the States?
Customs and traditions aside, these people are entering the United States legally and deserve a shot at the opportunity that our ancestors also sought.
They have skills, albeit largely related to agriculture and in crafts that may seem out-of-step with today's America; they are largely honorable and very loyal people. Given the opportunity, they can thrive in America just as have any other hard-working family. Given the opportunity, anyone willing to work hard can find a piece of the American Dream.
These people have nothing now. They are traveling from half a world away with the clothes on their backs and their worldly possessions confined to what forty-four pounds they may carry with them.
If there is opportunity for compassion and conservativism to blend in a chorus that sings for the future, this is most assuredly the time.
Those that lack education and skills, who "have an amazing ability to immediately gain access to every governmental program available" are often those who enter the US illegally, who breed crime and disillusion, despair, and work the system to their exclusive and selfish benefit while contributing little to nothing of value.
The Hmong deserve a chance.
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